Three-Demon Formation
Within the valley, black Qi raged through every corner, and poisonous fog filled the sky. Formation flags of three colors stood planted in several corners.
"Did that imperial scion really go down there?" The gaunt old man's eyes were full of icy glints, his voice as chilling as an evil ghost that had crawled out of the abyss.
The middle-aged Daoist, his limbs severed, was being held by a puppet. He carefully confirmed that the scion was indeed down there.
"My lord, if you don't believe me, I'm willing to lead men into the vanguard and take him alive." He had watched Fu Yuan enter with his own eyes, and his words were firm.
"Fool! What use would even hundreds or thousands of trash like you be against an imperial scion?" The creature at the very front roared in a low voice, all nine of its golden heads shaking.
It was a nine-headed lion. Its kind was renowned enough to stand alongside White Tigers and Vermilion Birds.
"Lowly wretch, how skilled at slaughter must an imperial scion of the sword be? Even our master has to face him with care. What makes you worthy?" The savage beast Zhu Yan spoke in a rough voice, breathing flames in and out.
Everyone recalled the middle-aged Daoist's miserable state when they had first entered the valley, and they could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Those methods of tormenting both body and mind, and that powerful Sword Qi, all confirmed that the middle-aged Daoist's information was correct: there truly was an imperial scion.
"The human race has countless sword cultivator factions, but only one or two could produce someone who has cultivated such a sword path." The nine-headed lion gazed at the spring. "The Sword Emperor Hall and the One Sword Sect."
"I heard that the Sword Emperor Hall's imperial scion, Jian Wushuang, appeared at the tenth trial. I'd say it's most likely him." Beside the lion stood a pretty, voluptuous woman, her almond-shaped eyes dreamy. "I really wonder what an imperial scion tastes like."
"This is the one Master asked for by name," the savage beast Zhu Yan said, a trace of fear in its eyes as it reminded Madam Snake not to set her sights on Fu Yuan.
Madam Snake flicked out her scarlet tongue and licked her lips. "I can hardly wait to see what kind of handsome young man has such sword intent."
"Big brother isn't coming. Can we really capture Jian Wushuang?" The black-feathered eagle was somewhat afraid, its wings fluttering gently. Jian Wushuang was a peerless monstrous talent who could fight and kill True Dragons and Divine Phoenixes.
"Master summoned big brother to that deadly land," the nine-headed lion replied. There were tremendous opportunities there, and several monstrous talents of the strongest tier had gathered. Master's opponents, Qing Yan and Bai Su of the Five Emperors' Grotto, were there as well. An earth-shaking battle would take place, and big brother could not get away.
"Cowardly seven-footed bird, even Bai Su would struggle to break Master's Three-Demon Formation." Madam Snake's sweet voice was full of contempt. "Not to mention the Iron Puppet King."
Behind Thousand Winds Demon General stood a black puppet, deathly Qi filling the sky around it. Its power had reached the peak of the eighth level of the Nirvana Realm.
"If we join forces, it's not impossible for us to fight and kill an imperial scion." The nine-headed lion's ferocity surged, all nine heads speaking at once. "Apart from beings like Master and Dugu Baitian, they all have to die!"
"What if he doesn't enter the formation and avoids it instead?" the seven-footed black-feathered eagle murmured.
The savage beast Zhu Yan shook its head. "Imperial scions are too proud. Even if we set up the grand formation right in front of him, he'll still walk into the trap."
The more monstrous a monster was, the prouder it was. The White Tiger that had joined forces with Zhu Yan to fight Master had been too proud, walking into the Three-Demon Formation of its own accord and ultimately meeting defeat and death.
"Interesting. Quite a few have come." Fu Yuan murmured as he flew, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. An air of slaughter surged around him, stirring Fu Feng beside him.
Fu Yuan's perception was exceptionally keen. He had already sensed the arrangements above: thirty-two signs of life, over a hundred traces of deathly Qi, and a formation laid out as well.
"He's here!" the nine-headed lion growled, its savage presence spreading in all directions.
The next moment, two figures rose from the spring and stood suspended in the air. The ink-black-clad youth was handsome and imposing, while the white-robed youth displayed effortless charm.
"What a handsome little fellow." Madam Snake's tongue curled at the corner of her mouth, her face full of allure and her eyes filled with endless desire as she looked at Fu Yuan.
"What a charming young man!" Her snakelike eyes turned toward Fu Feng beside him, and she was smitten. Forgetting everything, she stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
"A dog will always be a dog, it seems. Even after a hundred million years, it's still disgusting things like you behind the Carefree Manor." Killing intent shot into the sky. Fu Yuan's voice was icy as he looked down on them with cold eyes from above, as though looking at ants.
Within the valley's black fog, four pure-blooded creatures and twenty-eight humans all bore an incomparably evil presence, even worse than the middle-aged Daoist's. It was the stench of devouring living things over a long period.
"How irritating. A fellow who doesn't know his own situation, yet puts himself so high above us." The savage beast Zhu Yan roared, its ferocious might surging.
"Why are there two of them?" The nine-headed lion's face darkened. It could not see through either of the two above: one had blood Qi like an abyss, while the other had terrifying soul power surging around him.
"That's impossible. There was clearly only one." The middle-aged Daoist was dumbfounded. There had only been one person when he went down, so how could two have come up? It was beyond his comprehension.
"Lowly wretch, you should have died the moment you mentioned the Carefree Manor." The nine-headed lion turned, took a bite, and swallowed the middle-aged Daoist whole.
"So what if there are two? With the Three-Demon Formation, what do we have to fear?" The savage beast Zhu Yan roared, its ferocious might growing even greater.
"Leave them a breath. If we can capture them, Master's demonic art will rise to another level, and then he'll have no equal." The nine-headed lion roared. Golden light blazed from all nine heads as its bloodline power was roused, and an even more massive nine-headed lion appeared behind it, divinely mighty and invincible.
"Activate the Three-Demon Formation!" the seven-footed black-feathered eagle shouted, ordering Thousand Winds Demon General behind it to activate the grand formation and kill Fu Yuan.
"I'm in a very bad mood, a very bad mood!" An icy chill spread across Fu Yuan's face. Terrifying killing aura swept across the heavens, his Qi Sea boiled, and his spiritual platform churned as his blood and divine bodies appeared.
Fu Yuan walked slowly through the black fog. With his three bodies united, he was like a god descended from the nine heavens, and even heaven and earth trembled with his steps.
The Three-Demon Formation activated, and the black fog grew denser. Darkness blanketed heaven and earth, and piercing cries rang out as countless skulls in the fog lunged to bite Fu Yuan.
These had been refined from the souls of living beings. The formation flags of three colors were called Soul-Seizing Flags, and each skull represented a living being. In a single instant, tens of thousands of skulls swooped down to kill Fu Yuan and Fu Feng.
Fu Yuan's gaze turned icy to the extreme, his killing intent surging ever more fiercely. He unleashed the Emperor Sword Art, and streams of imperial Sword Qi circled around him, shredding the black Qi and cutting down everything.
An inexplicable emotion arose in Fu Feng's mind. His mastery of soul power was so extraordinary that he could feel the emotions of every skull and even see what torment they had suffered in life.
A multitude of skulls came crashing down, blotting out heaven and earth, only to be shredded by ripples of soul power. Soul Holy Spirits were the bane of such beings.
Fu Feng did not know what kind of emotion it was. He was very unhappy, very unhappy.
"Two imperial scions indeed!" Outside the Three-Demon Formation, the seven-footed black-feathered eagle was horrified. The Soul-Seizing Flags had been refined by Master, and the living souls within them were not weak. They could easily shred beings of the Nirvana Realm.
"Master's Three-Demon Formation can trap even a White Tiger of the same realm. What's a human imperial scion to it?" Zhu Yan roared, concealing its inner unease.